The National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Chairman has expressed optimism about the political fortunes of the party, saying it will comeback in 2020.

Kofi Portuphy said the NDC will be voted for in the next elections because there is growing discontent by Ghanaians with the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP’s) performance.

Addressing a news conference in Accra Wednesday, the former National Disaster and Management Organisation (NADMO) boss said Ghanaians have regretted voting for the NPP after three months in power.

“Don’t we hear Ghanaians express regret that they have exchanged their colour TVs for black and white?” He asked, adding the NDC will “bounce back in 2020.”

The ice of shock that caked the faces of NDC members following the party’s humiliating defeat in the 2016 elections does not appear to have melted away. Supporters of the party are still angry and frustrated four months after former President John Mahama lost his bid to get re-elected.

The Prof. Kwesi Botchwey committee that was set up to investigate the party’s debacle has submitted its report to the party leadership, but some senior members continue to attack one another in the media for the defeat.

But Mr. Portuphy has appealed to members to channel their frustrations and anger into the reorganisation of the party.

“Those aspiring for positions must understand that we need a strong party,” he said, adding the only way to “fight the NPP” is to have a united front.

Addressing a press conference in Accra Wednesday, Mr. Portuphy said the challenges facing the NDC are similar to the ones it faced after it lost the 2000 elections. “At that time we managed to overcome that.”

“The NDC will bounce back in 2020,” he said drawing applause from the gathering of party functionaries.

Meanwhile, former President John Mahama has taken responsibility for the National Democratic Congress (NDC’s) defeat in last December’s elections.

He said as the General who led the party into battle, he takes the “ultimate responsibility for our losing the election and so if it will satisfy those people, blame me for the loss.”

Tension continues to mount in the NDC four months after former President John Mahama lost his re-election bid in the 2016 presidential poll.

There has been a battle of blame with some supporters of the party pointing accusing fingers at some party members for their acts of omission and commission which led to the party’s defeat in the last elections.

A Professor Kwesi Botchwey Committee was set up to investigate the reasons behind the party’s defeat.

But before the contents of the Committee’s report are made public, the former President at a meeting with his former appointees Wednesday, called on all those aggrieved to direct their anger at him because he led the party into the 2016 elections.

The former president expressed the hope that members of the party took advantage of the Prof. Botchwey committee to vent their frustrations and concerns rather than wash their dirty linen in the media.

“We have set up a committee that is supposed to go round and analyze the reason for our loss. People are not taking advantage of the committee; they are going on air and apportioning blame. But I’ve said that the cause of our loss is multifaceted,” he said.

The former President said it is time for the party to do a careful analysis of the findings of the Committee, get the report and be able to break down exactly what resulted in our loss.

“Yes we lost; we should have done some things better but let’s use this opportunity as a learning curve to be able to make sure that we don’t make the same mistakes that we did in 2016,” he said.

“I’ve been meeting with Functional Executive Council (FEC) and the elders; the chairman of the party is now the leader according to our constitution but all of us are members of the party.”

Mr. Mahama told his former appointees, “we’ve served at the highest level of government and so we have a role to play both as ex-president, ex-vice president, as ministers of state and our fortunes are tied in with the party.

“We are committed members of the party so we must work to make sure that we put the party in a state where we are able to contribute to the progress of this country even in opposition by making sure that we provide the kind of opposition that safeguards the interest of the people.

“And that is why we need to rally around together as quickly as possible,” he added.